Unknown Story
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- Toussaint was born into slavery in Saint Domingue.
- Toussaint learned Africa from his father, who had been born a free man there. He learned that he was more than a slave, that he was a human being deserving of dignity.
- Toussaint learned to read and write and read every book he could get his hands on. He particularly admired the writings of the French Enlightenment philosophers, who spoke of individual rights and equality.
- In 1789 the French Revolution rocked France. The sugar plantations of Saint Domingue, though far away, would never be the same. As conflicts between plantation owners and the free people of color were raging, the slaves took their shot at freedom.
- Toussaint joined the rebellion early on as a general but did not become the leader of the slave rebellion until 1798. He would come to be known as Toussaint L'Ouverture (the one who finds an opening) and brilliantly led his rag-tag slave army. He successfully fought the French (who helped by succumbing to yellow fever in large numbers) as well as invading Spanish and British.
- There was jubilation among the blacks in Haiti, and Toussaint agreed to help the French army eject the British and Spanish. Toussaint proved to be a brilliant general, winning 7 battles in 7 days. He became a de facto governor of the colony. By 1803 Napoleon was ready to get Haiti off his back: he and Toussaint agreed to terms of peace. Napoleon agreed to recognize Haitian independence and Toussaint agreed to retire from public life. Years later, in exile at St. Helena, when asked about his dishonorable treatment of Toussaint, Napoleon replied, "What could the death of one wretched black man mean to me?" However, it was Napoleon who would lose his rule and die in prison. Haiti remained free.
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